Biomass Removal and Soil Health

In a study released earlier this year researchers with the USDA and Iowa State University concluded that when done properly collecting corn cobs, husks and leaves from corn fields for the purpose of producing cellulosic bioethanol is not harmful to the soil or the environment. The six year long study disputes claims from another study by an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln that claimed cellulosic bioethanol from crop residue is worse than gasoline over a five to ten year lifecycle; based on the concept that every leaf removed from a field produces a corresponding loss of soil carbon, which is then emitted into the atmosphere. Similar to many studies on foods and their possible cancer causing abilities the UNL study apparently based its conclusions on a projected biomass removal rate of 75% across the country’s largest corn growing region. Experts with the USDA and other ag groups say that would be an excessive biomass removal rate. Even the EPA stated that the UNL study’s hypothetical assumption was an extremely unlikely scenario that’s inconsistent with recommended ag practices.